Author: Hon Jason Charles Reichenbach, Esq.
Robert Lesley was born on the 25th day of October 1763 in the Bluestone area of Virginia to William Robert Lesley & Elizabeth Buchanan (Leslie 9). His elder siblings were Nancy, Elizabeth, John (Leslie 2, 9). William Robert immigrated to North America with his brother John on a wooden ship in 1755 from Dublin, Ireland with plans to become New World linin merchants (Leslie 1).

Robert’s grandfather, John Lesley, is believed to have been a tavern owner in Ireland who was banished from Scotland in the early 1700’s (Leslie 1). Robert’s father was said to have been of a Celtic or Gaelic origin (Ely 210). Castle Leslie in Ireland further traces the Leslie name back to Hungarian nobleman Bartholomew Leslie, the first Leslie to immigrate to Scotland (Castle Leslie).

At the age of eleven (11) years, Robert witnessed his father leave home to form up with Major James Robertson to fight in Lord Dunmore’s War in July of 1774. A mere two (2) years later, Robert, his older brother, William Lesley, & their father, took up arms against the British & their Native American allies in the American Revolution (Leslie 6). In 1775 the Lesley’s began to survey the Bluestone area of Virginia which they further developed for twenty-seven (27) years Leslie 7, 8, 10).

On the 12th of October 1778, John Lesley joined the Continental Army under the command of George Rogers Clark. John served with Clark for eighteen (18) months & fought at the Battle of Vincennes (Leslie 6). Meanwhile, at age of fifteen (15), Robert joined the Montgomery County Militia in Virginia in 1778. Captain James Moore listed Robert as being “under age” which likely accounts for him being assigned to what amounts to garrison duty at nearby forts (Leslie 7). Very soon, however, the frontier deployments presented Robert with plentiful opportunities to prove & establish himself as a capable pioneer, warrior & leader of men.

Being a tall man of great strength, Robert gained a reputation for being a skilled tracker & Indian fighter of some renown. He was soon commissioned as a Captain over a company of men tasked with defending the frontier settlements (Leslie 7). Indians occasionally attacked settlements under his care leaving scalped, mutilated & dead bodies in their wake. Robert would lead expeditions to hunt down these Indians. Robert was apparently an expert man tracker, capable of even following Indian footfalls. After one settlement raid the Indians suspected they were being hunted. Robert was tenaciously following the Indian’s trail without fail. The Indians, however, left a booby trap made from a pair of broken scissors on a log that so severely injured Robert’s foot that he was forced to quit that particular hunt to seek medical aid (Leslie 7).

After the war in 1787, Robert married Elizabeth Compton, a yellow haired girl of English decent from Leesburg, Virginia. (Leslie 9). The Christian ceremony was likely conducted by a Methodist minister (Jillson 103). Together they had fifteen (15) children. Ever restless for new opportunities to develop, the Lesley family soon began establishing a new settlement at the mouth of Pond Creek on the Tug River in 1789. However, Indian warriors fought to force the Lesley pioneers out. William Robert barely survived one Indian raid on Pond Creek with a slit throat (Scalf 54) (footnote 1). Life was hard & uncertain.

William Robert sought safe haven from further Indian attacks. In 1791 the Lesley family scouted out more suitable settlement opportunities in what would later become Pike County, Kentucky (foonote 2). It was there, on the 10th day of October 1802, that Robert & his father finally decided to forever leave their Bluestone estates & relocate to the John’s Creek area of eastern Kentucky. Their new enterprise resulted in what was to become known as the Leslie Settlement (Jillson 85). The Lesley family thus represents the earliest European pioneers & permanent white settlers in Big Sandy Valley (Scalf 54).

Robert & Elizabeth were blessed. They engaged in farming, logging & trading. Robert’s estates grew in abundance & value. They witnessed the formation of Pike County, Kentucky in 1821. Sadly, Robert died at the age of 59 in 1822. He was buried in the garden area behind his home in Pike County, Kentucky. Robert’s wife, Elizabeth, survived until 1837 when she then took her place at her husband’s side in the back garden of their hard won homestead in the heart of the Leslie Settlement.

Works Cited
1. Castle Leslie, Leslie Family History http://www.castleleslie.com/upload/docs/leslie-family-history.pdf
2. Castle Leslie, Castle Leslie Estate History http://www.castleleslie.com/historical-castle-ireland.html
3. Ely, William. The Big Sandy Valley; a History of the People and Country from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., 1987. Print.
4. Jillson, Willard Rouse. The Big Sandy Valley; a Regional History Prior to the Year 1850. Baltimore, Maryland: Clearfield Company, Inc., 1990. Print.
5. Leslie, Ruth Cleveland. Lesley - Leslie: William Robert Lesley & Elizabeth Buchanan Lesley & Their Descendants; A History of Two Hundred Years in America 1755-1955; with the Second Volume, A Supplement to Lesley-Leslie (1975); "Bevins Notes" (1979); "Addenda to Bevins Notes" (2003); "Descendants of Andrew Leslie" (2003) & "Descendants of John Leslie" (2003). Georgetown, KY: Inter-Collegiate, 2003. Print.
6. Scalf, Henry Preston. Kentucky's Last Frontier. Johnson City, TN: The Overmountain Press, 2000. Print.

Footnotes:

(1) This being the 2nd recorded time that William Robert’s throat was cut in North America. The 1st occurred in 1755 after winning a controversial street brawl. His victory was such that he sought to alter his appearance. The barber he chose to remove the evidence sliced William’s throat to avenge one of his friends whom William had bested in the New York City street fight (Leslie 1, 10).

(2) While Scouting the John’s Creek area together in 1790, pioneer Daniel Boone traded his flintlock rifle “Old Smoky” & powder horn with William Robert Lesley (Scalf 55, Leslie 14). Boone advised the Lesley’s that John’s Creek was a more promising settlement due to it being outside of the Indian’s areas of operation & thus less susceptible to attack (Scalf 54). Later, William Robert brought his son Robert to further explore the area upon the advice of Boone in what would later become known as the Leslie Settlement (Leslie 14).